The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for left hip and right hip disabilities, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between these conditions and her service-connected left foot and lumbar spine disabilities. The Board also found that the Veteran's bilateral hip disabilities are not caused or aggravated by her service-connected conditions.,The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left ankle and left knee disabilities, as there is insufficient evidence to determine whether these conditions are related to her service-connected left foot and lumbar spine disabilities.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found that the Veteran’s bilateral hip disabilities were not caused or aggravated by her service-connected left foot and lumbar spine disabilities. The examiner opined that the hip and foot are separate joints with no causal relationship.,VA examiners did not provide sufficient opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left ankle and left knee conditions are related to her service-connected left foot and lumbar spine disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- {"condition_name":"Left Hip Disability","claimed_conditions":["Bilateral hip disability"]}, {"condition_name":"Right Hip Disability","claimed_conditions":["Bilateral hip disability"]}, {"condition_name":"Left Ankle Disability","claimed_conditions":["Left ankle disability"]}, {"condition_name":"Left Knee Disability","claimed_conditions":["Left knee disability"]}
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2020
- Citation
- A20016235
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
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